


Mists and mellow fruitfulness

by aboutmikasa (Coco_c)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: All of them are alive, Alternate Universe, Autumn, F/M, RivaMika Jam, awkward levi gives me life, including mr and mrs ackerman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22224211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coco_c/pseuds/aboutmikasa
Summary: "Every year, she dragged her friends to her fall-frenzy; an endearing and innocent sequence of events to celebrate her love for autumn. She didn’t celebrate anything with similar enthusiasm, not even Christmas. He always followed her; yes, he rolled his eyes, teasing her as the others did, and pretending to forget the annual celebration. However, he did whatever she wanted, whatever she asked him."Awkward Levi is Mikasa's best friend, and while celebrating her Autumn frenzy, a little detail would give him the last push he needed to ask the girl he loves that maybe they need to be more than friends.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Levi, Rivamika - Relationship
Comments: 19
Kudos: 76





	Mists and mellow fruitfulness

**Author's Note:**

> “Every season has its own art and the art of autumn is to bewitch the people!” Mehmet Murat ildan

She was a cool climate kind of girl. In warm months, her red scarf rested in the bottom of her nightstand and when October's winds arrived she took it out, showing her most treasured possession. It was common knowledge, as soon as they saw the red ornament the games begun. Every year, she dragged her friends to her fall-frenzy; an endearing and innocent sequence of events to celebrate her love for autumn. She didn’t celebrate anything with similar enthusiasm, not even Christmas. He always followed her; yes, he rolled his eyes, teasing her as the others did, and pretending to forget the annual celebration. However, he did whatever she wanted, whatever she asked him. The most-of-the-time quiet girl spent those months with pumpkin spice beverages and hot cider. Levi, Eren, and Armin were the guinea pigs for her and Sasha’s cooking experiments.

Her fall included big celebrations too. Apple picking was the first big event and Sasha had her back. Mikasa and Sasha had a homemade fruits and vegetables small business; winter demanded everything with apple and cinnamon, and they prepared a large-scale production. Business apart, Mikasa enjoyed the harvesting the most. She loved the quiet place, the ripe fruits aroma, and sight full of orange, red and green. In the second week of October, they went to the same orchard and picked fuji apples, carrying hats, reusable bags, and apple pickers. Yes, she had a set of fruit pickers. Every year she forgot to bring her umbrella and every year Levi carried two, just in case. The only year she didn’t forget it –thanks to Levi-, Eren did; when a downpour fell, Mikasa gave him the one she had and shared Levi’s.

For Halloween, Mikasa drove her friends to a pumpkin patch. The girl filled her car with beer, snacks, and warm blankets. Her favorite blanket had a “Waiting for the Great Pumpkin” and Linus design. A Birthday gift from Levi. He begged her to throw it away but Mikasa ignored him. Every year she wrapped herself in its comfy warm, sometimes she wrapped both of them; every year their friends teased him for that blanket and how easily she shushed his claims. Armin and Eren loved Halloween night and the three of them matched costumes; that year they were Chico, Harpo, and Groucho. Levi never dressed up for Halloween, but Mikasa always found out a way to make him take part; she asked him to keep his jacket and tie, grabbed his hand, and told everybody he was Zeppo.

The biggest event in her autumns was the harvest party. She went nuts that day, cocking a feast and making a bonfire. Years ago, Levi met her in one of those parties; the day she and Sasha almost burned the building, using a grill in their balcony for the bonfire. He swore the beautiful yet annoying college girl needed therapy. She extinguished the fire, tried to stop the fire alarm, and kept making the dinner; while Armin negotiated with their neighbors, and Eren kissed Annie ignoring the world. Erd’s girlfriend was Historia’s cousin or something like that, and Levi came to Mikasa’s party by chance. In one night, they fought over a game and became friends drinking hot cider with cinnamon sticks. Six years later and they still were friends.

Little by little his friends took part in her fall-frenzy. At the beginning he lived in denial, ignoring his feelings for her. Levi alleged her friends were younger, so he invited his own friends to have someone to talk to. Nonetheless, before he noticed Mikasa, Sasha, Historia, Hanji, and Isabel had brunches, and his eccentric friend helped her to promote her business. Erwin added her on Facebook and shared her twits, while Mikasa made fun of him and his “ _vintage_ ” Nokia phone. This arrangement included Mike, who loved to spend time in their tiny shop. The girl helped Moblit to choose costumes for him and Hanji and soon when autumn came, they had Mikasa’s fall calendar without Levi’s help; she even changed the harvest party’s date once because Farlan had to work the original day.

As soon as he bought a house, it turned into her headquarters, and the harvest party moved from her tiny apartment to his living room. He had been renovating the old and bad shaped place for a couple of years; the house needed a lot of work, and the first place he finished was the kitchen. It surprised no one; Mikasa always complained about the mess of a kitchen in her apartment, and how Sasha and she used their living room to cut the ingredients for their jams, compotes, preserved fruits and vegetables, and edible leathers. Several times he tried to tell her she could use his house for their little business, but words died in his throat. Levi felt pathetic about himself. But her harvest party demanded space and she invaded his house, much to his silent delight.

“You should talk to her.” Erwin took a long sip and stared at him waiting for his reply.

“Good thing no one is asking your opinion.”

“We’re talking about Mikasa oblivious Ackerman.”

“No, we’re not. You’re talking about her. I’m trying to finish this shit. Go away and stop drinking my tea.”

The blond man shook his head, in total disapproval of his friend’s words. For years Levi had pretended to be nothing more than her friend, and it was painfully obvious how much it hurt him.

“One of these days, someone will take her away if you don’t do anything.” 

“I’m doing something.”

“Yeah, you are. You comfort her every timr some dude breaks her heart; you give her love advice when she tells you about a new guy in her life. And, my favorite, you ignore her when she’s drunk and demands your attention playing with you. I’m impressed with your powerful game.”

Erwin was right; he sucked. Though his initial efforts at wooing her had gone nowhere, he loved her. Still, his relationship with Mikasa was his problem, and he hated when their noisy friends gave him advice or tried to make him do whatever they thought would work. He had tried to tell her, he really tried. Levi almost succeeded once, but she thought he talked about Petra, and Mikasa did the unthinkable; she arranged a blind date for them. It was by far the worse date of his life. After the _Petra Incident_ , as Hanji named it, Levi decided he should move on and stop loving her; however, it took one of Mikasa’s smiles to pulverize his determination.

Music came from his house and he smiled; it had to be Mikasa. Her gorgeous back greeted him. She was cooking, and her hips and head followed the laud music. The old and ugly chimney had some logs, warming the place; he took a mental note to rebuild the fireplace as his next project. Levi leaned against the door frame, arms folded, shy smile on his face; too caught in her presence to say anything. He indulged the dream of a life with Mikasa, coming to a warm home. But then he wouldn’t repress his need of her.

“Hey, you’re home.” He blushed at her words, but the breezy weather covered that fact and his face didn’t show his emotions. His heart was a different story.

Mikasa wore an apron with her favorite quote, “ _I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers_ ”, and he repressed the need to tell her he was glad he lived in a world where she lived.

“Do you know October is over, right?”

She rolled her eyes.

Mike always said he needed to flatter her, to make obvious that he wooed her. Maybe he could tell her something nice about her eyes. He believed she had unique and mesmerizing eyes, dark as the darkest night but full of light, like fire and scintillation. Perhaps, he should say something about her lips; her luscious, tempting and kissable lips. Levi could write an essay about her Cupid’s bow and the way she pouted when things didn’t work as she wished. She loved cold weather but her lips didn’t; he knew she was self-conscious about her dried lips, not that it was a big issue. Every time her tongue lapped her lips, the laud percussion of his heart resembled a gong. Levi wanted to see it at that very moment, more than anything.

“Do I have something on my face?” He had been staring at her, lost in his thoughts.

“You have something on your lips.” She touched them, frowning, and he wished someone would kick him, hard. “No… I mean, they’re dry.”

_Nice, Levi._

He wanted to fix it, but he made a lame excuse instead and ran away. “I stink, let me take a shower and I help you after.”

“Okay.”

It was pathetic, he was pathetic.

As much as he wished to flush himself away, she waited for him and Levi obliged. He took a quick shower; however, he made an extra effort with his appearance. Her broad smile and approving gesture fastened his pulse. They had cooked together before, and she didn’t have to ask or explain; just one gaze and he did as she needed. When Armin, Eren, and Sasha arrived, she looked so at ease that Levi almost forgave them for their interruption. Almost. Like a good introvert, Mikasa didn’t socialize a lot out of her group of friends, even around them, she listened more than she talked. Around him it was the opposite; around him, she talked a lot and Levi felt an undeniable pride, knowing he was the audience for her stories. They shared long silences too; sometimes she just read next to him. For Levi, their quiet moments held a deep meaning.

The party was a success. Everyone attended and Levi heard the whole night two kinds of comments. The usual one, the eternal question, “ _When are you gonna tell her?_ ” And its many variations, “ _Can you stop staring at her? We know you love her,_ ” “W _hy aren’t you two dating yet?_ ”, “ _Just tell her_ ” … and so far, and so forth. None of those relevant enough, and he dismissed them with his trademarked mortal glare. The other one was a simple phrase, one that took his breath away; a repeated sequence of words in a casual manner. Maybe he was overthinking.

His friend’s unnecessary remarks annoyed him, quite a different reaction from the innocent _“_ Levi and I… _”_ Mikasa used all night when describing basically her daily life. The first time she said it, he prepared margaritas and doubted her words meant more, but ' _Levi and I'_ had a melodic perfection coming from those lips. The second time, he wondered but ignored his hammering heart. By the fourth time, he locked his eyes on her face wanting to read the tiniest signal, and yet the reason behind his frustration and happiness remained unaffected. Her stoicism irritated him. Erwin asked him if they enjoyed the season, with an over-sweetened voice tone and he excused himself, hiding from his annoying friends in the kitchen. 

What did Hanji ask anyway? Levi wasn’t paying attention until Mikasa answered. Then, he lost count of the number of times she emphasized her statements, answers, and comments with ' _Levi and I'_. Yes, they had a little story to tell, memories he treasured. 

_“Levi and I have been searching for another orchard, but the Bod’s farm’s apples are scrumptious,”_ Erd told him about other places for her apple picking and they visited a couple and read blog’s reviews but she was right. Sasha tried changes in their recipes but fuji apples were better for their products.

 _“Yes! Hanji told me. Levi and I tried the new pumpkin spice muffin at Sawney & Bean and you should before they change the menu.” _He remembered that day with delight. Every year Hanji’s favorite cafe changed its menu for seasonal options. Mikasa had tried all of them, and he always said yes when she demanded his company. Levi hated pumpkin-spiced food before Mikasa, maybe because he had never tried. They spent that day together, it was cold and he hugged her.

 _“It was a few years ago. Levi and I followed Armin and Eren for Halloween; they wanted to ask candies and Levi was a bit worried, no matter what he says.”_ She loved those brats and he loved her, so he found out himself attached to them. Mikasa spent most of her time with them and Levi ended spending a lot of time with them too. When Eren complained about them being grown-ups and how much he missed trick or treating, Connie suggested doing it again. Armin tagged along just in case, and Mikasa’s worried expression spread to Levi. 

_“Really? Levi and I couldn’t finish the pie challenge, but Eren and Sasha won. All of us were sick to death after that. My poor Armin had to deal with us; he has amazing nursing skills and I own him my life.”_ For moths, Levi avoided pies as he avoided dirt and mess. But the next fall, he was more than ready for pies and autumn fairs. Mikasa and he stayed away from the pie-eating contest though. For the last three years, while Sasha, Hanji, Connie, Eren, and Jean eat too many pies, he shared his single piece with Mikasa and she did the same with him. 

_“Last year, Levi bought me the last apple picker. I have no clue where he found it, but now I have the complete set. Have you seen them? They have tiny green apples. Erwin and Farlan always say Levi and I are crazy. Too bad for them Isabel is with us, and you don’t mess with Iss when she’s protecting her big brother.”_ Mikasa didn’t know Erwin, Farlan and Hange annoyed him about the picker; they told everyone it was some kind of love token, like an engagement ring. Levi almost regretted hunting the damn thing all over the Internet, but she was so happy. He liked apple picking too, not as much as Mikasa, but he enjoyed it.

And seeing her smiling worth every joke.

 _“I think Levi and I did a great job with the bonfire. Just ignore, please, Sasha's ire extinguisher, little miss potato has been teasing me all day. We know she loves it more than anyone. Last year she even used the bonfire to make s’mores pies… don’t ask. It was hilarious; Jean and Connie fight with Ymir for the last piece. They never stood a chance.”_ They made a great job indeed. His yard still wasn’t a garden, and as the party moved to his house, the bonfire took place in his backyard. The weekend before the party, Mikasa came and they arranged stones and made sure the construction worked properly. He hadn’t told her yet, but he had everything ready to build a block fire pit as a permanent thing. Levi wanted to surprise her, one of her Christmas gifts.

Since when did Mikasa’s traditions become his? Before he noticed, Levi celebrated with her, planned with her, and yes, he enjoyed them. Every single one.

“You look very happy,” he daydreamed and didn’t notice Petra’s presence. How could he explain his joy? It wasn’t anything big, but it was hope. “You didn’t know? She talked like that all the time.”

“Like what?” 

“Like both of you together. You heard her, the ' _Levi and I'_ thing.”

“Does she?”

Since when did she talk about them as an item? Why didn’t he know? He questioned without words and Petra smiled. 

“I believed you knew, I guess everyone believed it. We use it as a nickname for you guys.” Petra scrolled the conversations on her phone; as she told him, Auruo asked her if ' _Levi and I'_ invited her to the party; Hanji told her she bought a gift for ' _Levi and I'._

“Are you busy?” Mikasa’s voice startled him, she looked the same but her voice had a subtle difference. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, you’re not.” Petra did the talk, aware of her piercing stare and Levi's puzzled look.

Mikasa looked at him as if she wanted to ask something and his silence didn’t amuse her; he was sure about it and she pouted to prove him right. Something displeased her. “I hope you don’t mind Petra, but I need him.” 

“Not at all.”

Mikasa stared at them for a moment and left.

“You should talk to her.” For the first time, he didn’t reply annoyed.

when the bonfire was ready, Mikasa sat at his side and Levi’s mind moved with the force of thousand revolutions. If only his awkwardness around her could stop, but he was doomed. He tried to clean a tiny dirty spot on her scarf and hit her head. Mikasa asked him something, but the flames beamed in her eyes and he replied a non-related thing. Sasha and Jean danced around the fire and he rolled his eyes claiming it was stupid, failing no heard her asking something, then, Mikasa turned to Armin, asking him to dance with her. His mind tortured him with a non-stopping and suitable choice to the whole ' _Levi and I_ ' thing, in the lines of 'Levi-my- dimwitted-an-nothing-more-than-a-friend and I'.

The sun almost rose when Hanji and Erwin left; he spent the rest of the night with them, avoiding her. Levi dropped on the sofa, hiding his face with his hands.

“There you are.” He noticed fresh logs in the chimney and Mikasa standing in front of him. The girl sat on the couch, giving him a steamy cup. “I wasn’t sure if I should leave.”

“But you always stay.” 

“I thought you could have company.”

“Company?” Her words baffled him, the only company he tolerated after any social event was hers.

“Petra.”

“Don’t be a dumbass, brat. We have this conversation already; I don’t like her like that.” Did she care because he was her friend or would it be something more?

She drank from her mug, watching the fire. Too quiet even for her.

“You’ve been acting weird,” Levi mumbled.

“Of course not.” She raised an eyebrow and Levi shrugged, admitting defeat. 

With the half-lights, her warmth and proximity, the gorgeous lines of her nose, and the silence, his heart demanded more. 

“You look beautiful tonight,” He finally said. His voice at ease and his shoulders lightened. Her face softened as she rested her head on his shoulder, curling her legs up on the sofa. Levi saw the tiny curve on her lips before she took a quick sip of her own hot cider. It felt so right and he rested his own head on hers.

“Thank you.”

Maybe he could do it after all. “What do you think we should do next year?” 

“About?” 

“We can’t skip fall, right?”

He loved the sound of her peaceful laugh; he even loved her tantrums and short temperament.

“I like what we do, the way we do it," Mikasa replied, her eyes fixed on the fire. "Just more quiet times like this.”

He liked it too, but he needed to be honest with her. Levi wanted a change in their traditions and perhaps it wasn’t crazy and impossible as he believed; maybe if he tried one more time she would understand. Perhaps he had a chance, but he needed to daydream less and do more. It took it a while to gain the courage to tell her and he spoke almost whispering.

“Mikasa…”

“Yes?”

“Actually, I want something more. I…” He felt her head moving, it was more like the slight shadow of a movement. His heart hammered against his chest with every word, but he couldn’t wait any longer. “I want us to be more than friends.”

“Oh.” 

“It’s that okay with you?” 

When her gaze found his eyes, Levi put the mugs down and took his time removing a lock from her face. His own face felt warm and he wasn’t sure how to breathe. While he caressed her face, Mikasa closed her eyes. Levi cupped her cheek in his hand and Mikasa leaned into his palm. The fireplace brightened the room, but she was his source of warmth.

Levi waited for her reply, hanging from the little hope he had. 

She had the most adorable shy smile and the intensity of her eyes destroyed all his defenses. Mikasa caressed the hand holding her face.

“I would really like that.” She kissed his cheek. 

This time he needed to stay away from misunderstandings. He lifted her face and closed the space between them, kissing her softly. Without the slightest hesitation, Mikasa’s hands went to his shoulders and she kissed him back.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote it for the RivaMika Jam Fall edition, few moons ago, the prompt I got was "Traditions that Levi and Mikasa have at the start of fall."


End file.
